


smooth operator

by delayofgame



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: ALL ABOARD THE KUREINEN TRAIN, Boston Bruins, M/M, or more like: sean flirting and danton being oblivious, you can't tell me that they didn't spend the entire china trip flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-02 02:35:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16777945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delayofgame/pseuds/delayofgame
Summary: “The view’s a lot easier on the eyes than this,” Danton says, gesturing to his face.Sean smirks. “Hmm, I’m not so sure about that.”It’ssuchan obvious flirtation, and he almost regrets saying it, but Danton just laughs as if it’s a friendly chirp and looks back out over the wall.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> blame tumblr for this
> 
> watch [this](https://www.nhl.com/bruins/video/stock-livens-up-bruins-trip/t-277464122/c-60822903) and [this](https://www.nhl.com/bruins/video/heinen-and-kuraly-in-beijing/t-277464122/c-60787203) if you want to understand half of the china trip references
> 
> this got much longer than it needed to be and i'm sorry

It’s a joke, at first.

The team goes to a restaurant in Toronto the night before game four. It’s one of their typical _bonding_ outings. They keep it light; a break of sorts from the intensity and toil of the playoff schedule. Brad and Pasta seem to be having a contest to see who can make everyone laugh more from opposite ends of the table. They eat well and they don’t talk about the series, or about hockey at all, really. Zee gives a speech about _trusting each other_ and _treating everyone like family_ as the dinner comes to an end. Affirming cheers and applause fill the room, loud and unapologetic, because even though they aren’t in a locker room they’re still a hockey team at the end of the day.

Sean takes a quick trip to the bathroom after paying his portion of the tab. When he returns, Danton is standing rather awkwardly near the table, holding a piece of paper. The rest of the group has made their way to the front of the restaurant.

“Hey,” Sean says.

Danton looks up as if he’d just been lost in thought. “Oh. Hey.”

They head toward the exit together to join the rest of the team.

“What was that about?” Jake asks after they all get outside. “With the waitress?”

Danton has just finished crumpling up the paper and tossing it in a garbage can outside the door. “Huh? Oh, I don’t know. It was weird.”

Sean narrows his eyes. “Weird how?”

“Well, she came up to me with that piece of paper and was like ‘ _hey, you dropped this_ ,’” Danton says. “I didn’t drop it, so I told her that, and she kept saying ‘ _no you dropped it here take it_ ’ and finally just like… shoved it in my hand and walked away.”

“Yeah? And?” Jake pushes. 

Danton shrugs. “It was just a phone number that I didn’t recognize. Definitely not mine, she must have thought I was someone else. So I threw it out.”

Jake’s jaw drops. He and Sean stare at each other for a moment.

“What?” Danton sounds confused.

“Dude, you’re an idiot,” Jake says. “She was _giving you her number_. To ask you out.”

Sean laughs. “And you threw it out? That’s cold, Dan.”

Danton looks bewildered. “But… she… why didn’t she just tell me that?”

“She was trying to be slick about it, I bet,” Jake says. “Kinda genius, actually, if only you weren’t so clueless.”

“Whatever,” Danton mumbles, seemingly aware and begrudgingly accepting of the fact that he will _never be able to let this go_. 

Sure enough, it’s the first topic of conversation in the locker room after morning skate the next day. Jake has gladly taken the role of messenger. It’s all in fun, of course, and the guys want to capitalize on one of the rare instances when they can make a normally placid guy blush. 

So Danton’s obliviousness is a running joke. Not a big deal.

///

“And then he _threw her number away_ ,” Sean says, prompting an eruption of laughter from the entire table (except Danton, of course). It’s their second night in China, and the whole group is out to dinner in Beijing. The conversation had quickly fallen into _let’s see who can tell the most embarrassing story about someone else_ , and Sean couldn’t resist telling the waitress story after Danton had told everyone about the time Sean twisted his ankle because he forgot to take his skate guards off before practice. 

“You really tossed out her number _right_ outside of her workplace?” Cody teases, ruffling Danton’s hair. “Someone’s gotta teach you some manners, kid.”

Danton pouts and runs a hand through his hair, trying to repair the damage that Cody had caused. “Don’t make me tell them about the time you tripped and broke the coffee table because you were wearing Mom’s heels.”

Cody rolls his eyes. “Looks like you already told them.”

“There’s more to the story than just _that_ ,” Danton says.

Before they can continue teasing each other, two servers appear with enormous platters of food. The table is quiet for a moment as they all start to dig in. Sean is _starving_ , still a bit affected by the jetlag and the lack of a continental breakfast at their hotel.

“You know, that reminded me,” Nick pipes up, speaking around a mouthful of food. “One time Sean took our mom’s-”

Sean claps a hand over Nick’s mouth. “That’s enough of that.” 

The night continues on like that, with teasing and inside jokes and wisecracking. When they get back to the hotel, Sean pats Danton’s shoulder. 

“We’re not being too hard on you, huh?”

Danton smiles. “Nah. Don’t think I won’t get you back, though.”

“Bring it on,” Sean goads. 

They wish each other a good night and head to their separate rooms. Sean lingers for a moment outside the door, noticing that his heart is beating a bit faster than normal. He passes it off on the fact that he’s almost 7,000 miles from home, definitely not because he was just _kind of_ flirting with his teammate. 

Nope. Not a chance. 

///

The next day, they head to a rink for on-ice clinics with youth players. Sean and Danton teach separate groups for a while with help from their brothers, giving the kids a few pointers but mostly just letting them show off their skills. Nick gets into a puck juggling contest with a few of the kids, and Sean can’t help but sabotage him by knocking his stick out of his hands. This is met with peals of laughter from the kids and an exaggerated eye roll from Nick. 

When Sean looks up, Danton is watching him from across the ice with an amused look on his face. His smile widens when Sean makes eye contact with him. 

Sean’s heart definitely does _not_ start beating a bit faster. 

They don’t interact again until near the end of the clinic, when Danton skates up to where Sean is standing in front of one of the nets. His cheeks are pink from the cold, and his hair sticks out from under his cap.

“Taking a break, eh?” Danton says. 

Sean shrugs. “Just gonna sit back and watch for a bit.”

One of the kids scores a pretty sick goal, and Sean calls out one of the only phrases in Mandarin that he remembers. 

“What does that mean?” Danton asks, leaning against the net. 

“ _Good job_ ,” Sean replies. It’s what he’d been told, anyway. 

Danton turns to look at him, doubtful. “Are you sure?”

“ _Gàn de hâo_ ,” Sean sounds out. “Yeah.”

Danton doesn’t seem very confident in Sean’s Mandarin skills, but the kids grin at him when he says it again, which is good enough for Sean. 

///

“What a view, eh?” Danton says. 

They’re at the top of a tower on the Great Wall of China, which is a place that Sean _never_ thought he’d be. It’s cloudy but still hot and humid enough that Sean’s skin is already damp with sweat. The wall cuts through the rugged terrain and dark green vegetation below them, so beautiful that it’s kind of surreal to look at. 

Sean sighs. “Yeah. Unbelievable.” 

When Sean looks over, Danton is already gazing at him, elbows propped up on the edge of the wall and his chin resting in his hands. 

“What’s up?” Sean asks.

Danton’s expression is unreadable. “Just thinking.”

Even when he turns back towards the view, Sean keeps glancing at Danton out of the corner of his eye. He doesn’t know what’s gotten into him. It could be the heat, perhaps, or the setting, or the fact that Danton is so close to him that their elbows nearly touch. It’s definitely unnecessary, considering that space on the tower isn’t exactly limited, but Danton hasn’t made any effort to move away. 

Sean clearly isn’t as sneaky as he thought, though, because Danton turns back to him.

“Do I have something on my face?” he asks, and Sean can’t tell if it’s a joke or not.

Sean snorts. “No, you’re good.”

“The view’s a lot easier on the eyes than this,” Danton says, gesturing to his face. 

Sean smirks. “Hmm, I’m not so sure about that.”

It’s _such_ an obvious flirtation, and he almost regrets saying it, but Danton just laughs as if it’s a friendly chirp and looks back out over the wall. 

Sean glances down to the stairs leading up to the tower, where Nick and Cody and PJ are having an animated conversation. The cameraman is doing a sweeping shot of the landscape and the rest of the crew is scattered around doing their own things. Nobody is looking at Sean and Danton, alone on the tower. When Danton meets Sean’s eyes again, the first thing Sean thinks is how easy it would be to kiss him. 

Danton ruins the moment by taking his cap off and starting to fan himself with it. “This humidity is killing me.”

He looks good, even with his hat hair. 

_You are so fucked_ , Sean silently chides himself. 

//


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this got longer than i meant it to! hope you enjoy it!
> 
> i don't know if the bruins are doing a casino night this year but for the purposes of this fic, they are.

The preseason is going well, all things considered. They’ve only lost two games, even with over half of the team playing in China for a majority of the time, and Sean has been taking shifts as the first-line center. They work hard in practice, but they also mess around a bit. It’s lighthearted and morale is pretty high. 

Before the last preseason game, home against Philly, a few guys stick around after the official end of practice for a shootout competition. The guys from the China trip seem to finally settling into their preseason routines, and Brad is in peak chirping form as they start to shoot. 

“Gonna need some stamps for that air mail,” Brad shouts at Anders after he shoots the puck about eight feet above the net. Anders takes his glove off just to flip him off. 

Danton is next, and he pulls a ridiculous deke and roofs it, sending Jaro’s water bottle flying. A few guys whoop and cheer, but Danton just shrugs and flashes a small smile.

“You can’t just pull a move like that and not even celly,” Jake complains as Danton skates back to the end of the line.

“Just because you treat every goal like it’s the Cup final doesn’t mean everyone else has to,” Backes retorts.

Jake pouts. “I’m just making it fun.”

He then proceeds to score five-hole and does an exaggerated celly, down on one knee. 

Everybody shoots one more time before Jaro announces that he’s tired and heads toward the bench. They all gradually head off after him.

In the locker room, Sean sits down next to Danton, who’s in the middle of unlacing his skates. 

“When are you gonna bring that move out during a game?” Sean asks. 

Danton doesn't look up from his laces. “There's no guarantee it works next time I try it.”

“But it might,” Sean says, matter-of-factly. 

Danton’s face cracks into a smile as if he can't help himself. “You might have too much faith in me.”

Sean shrugs. “Just saying. Those hands are magic.”

Danton is blushing when he looks up. “Uh, thanks?” 

He keeps looking at Sean as he finishes taking his gear off, but he doesn't say anything until he mutters something nearly unintelligible along the lines of _see you later_ before grabbing his bag and heading out of the locker room. 

“Laying it on a bit thick there,” Torey pipes up from his locker a few feet away when Danton is out of earshot. 

“Not like he notices,” Sean replies quickly, his voice low. A few younger guys are still packing up and chatting on the other side of the room. Torey seems to get Sean’s hint and moves to the locker next to him so they can keep their conversation away from curious prospect ears.

Torey raises his eyebrows when Sean doesn't elaborate on his comment. “So something _is_ going on, then?”

Sean hesitates for a moment. He isn’t entirely sure, but it’s certainly within the realm of possibilities. There’s always the chance that Danton _does_ notice Sean’s rather gauche attempts at flirting and is just trying to ignore it until it goes away, but every once in a while Sean feels like he’s getting it back a bit. 

“Might be,” he says, trying to be cryptic, but he feels his cheeks heat up. 

Torey gives him a look as if he knows something that Sean doesn’t. “Sure. I’m rooting for you, bud.”

He pats Sean twice on the shoulder, then picks up his bag and heads out of the room, leaving Sean sitting alone in his locker. 

///

“He actually thought this random guy was Tiger Woods,” Danton says. “He asked for a picture with him.”

They're at Wagner’s house, shooting the breeze over an extensive Thanksgiving spread. The team isn't doing very well, even considering the injuries, but all is forgotten at least for one day in favor of lighthearted conversation and good cooking. 

“You get way too much enjoyment out of embarrassing me,” Sean says. He takes a long sip of the vintage red Bordeaux that Chris had proudly brought out at the beginning of the meal. 

Danton mock-scoffs. “Says the guy who brings up the waitress story at _every_ opportunity.”

The woman across the table from them, one of Chris’s cousins if Sean remembers correctly, perks up. “What's the _waitress story_?”

“Oh, here we go again,” Danton says in feigned despair. 

Sean stifles a laugh. “‘I can't just _not_ tell them now, after we brought it up. As much as it pains me to do so.”

“Oh, shut up,” Danton says, smirking. “Don't act like you're not loving this.”

So Sean tells the story, in detail, yet again. It's popular among the rest of the table. Danton suddenly becomes very focused on spreading butter on his dinner roll. 

The _waitress story_ is quickly forgotten when the table is cleared and Chris’s mother brings out an array of pies. Sean takes a slice of apple and digs in without hesitation, prompting a comment from Chris about Sean having a “bottomless pit” for a stomach. Sean is too busy eating to come up with a clever retort. 

After finishing off the pies, they all head to the living room and somebody turns on the Bears-Lions game. Sean takes a seat on the beige couch near the picture windows on the far side of the room.

Danton makes a beeline to sit next to him. 

It might just be the red wine he had earlier finally getting to him, but Sean barely hesitates before leaning back and resting his head on Danton’s shoulder after he settles onto the couch. He's acutely aware of the fact that everyone in the room can see them but he can't find it within himself to be bothered. Danton is warm and relaxed and his shoulder is comfortable, and Sean has very little interest in moving as long as Danton lets him stay. 

Chris makes eye contact with Sean from across the room and gives him a small smile before turning back to the TV. 

The Bears score a touchdown, and nobody cares very much.

When Sean feels Danton sigh and lean back more heavily against him, however, he cares a lot.

///

Sean has never considered himself to be high-maintenance, but he somehow finds himself as the last person still getting ready in the excessively large and fancy hotel bathroom. It’s the night of the team’s Casino Night charity event. The whole team is dressed to the nines; Brad is wearing one of his _fancy_ tailored suits that he hasn’t shut up about in months, and Sean himself is wearing a classic black tuxedo with a bowtie. 

Sean is in the middle of checking his hair one more time in the bathroom mirror when Danton walks in. He’s in a dark blue suit with a burgundy tie, matching pocket square, and a small Bruins lapel pin. His hair is slicked back and tucked behind his ears.

“You look great,” is the first thing that comes out of Sean’s mouth.

Danton shrugs off the compliment, as he always seems to do. “Not entirely to my credit. Bergy tied my tie for me. Anyway, I was sent here to tell you to hurry up.”

Sean checks his watch. “I still have a couple minutes!”

“You nervous or something?” Danton teases. “It’s just gambling.”

The lighting is dim, and it softens Danton’s features, makes him look younger. He really does look good. 

“Fake gambling,” Sean says. He tries to be smooth about it, keep up the easy banter, but his words stick in his throat. “Not like our actual money is on the line.”

The tension is suddenly so thick that the air in the room feels heavy. They look at each other for a long moment. 

“So, what's the verdict on this look?” Sean asks a bit too loudly, gesturing to his suit, partly to break the tension and partly because he actually wants to know the answer.

Danton gives Sean a very obvious once-over. “You look awesome. Outclassing all of us.”

“Thanks,” Sean exhales. The tension is back as quickly as it dissipated. Whatever has been building for months and months between them is about to come to a head, Sean can tell. 

“We should probably head out.” Danton’s voice is an almost-whisper.

“Yeah, probably,” Sean says. 

Then he finally does what he's been meaning to do for months and presses a soft kiss to Danton’s lips.

It’s over before Danton really has a chance to react. After pulling away, Sean runs a hand through his hair and rocks back and forth on his heels, doing a poor job of hiding his nervousness.

Danton blinks, his mouth hanging slightly open in surprise. “Oh.”

Before he can say anything more, Brad bursts into the room. “It’s showtime, boys, come on!”

Sean and Danton give each other meaningful looks, a silent _let’s talk about this later_ hanging in the air, before following Brad out to the ballroom. 

///

They don't end up getting the chance to talk alone until the next day. Sean hangs back after practice, waiting, simultaneously impatient for the chance to talk to Danton and anxious as all hell about it. Torey gives Sean a supportive pat on the back as he heads out the door. 

Finally, Sean and Danton are the only ones left in the locker room. It's unnervingly quiet and Sean can't stop moving, shifting his weight from foot to foot and picking at a thread on his sweatpants and chewing on his lower lip.

“I’ve gotta say I had _no_ idea that was coming,” Danton blurts out. They're still about ten feet apart, nervous energy thrumming between them. 

Sean sighs. “I’ve literally been trying to drop hints for, like… months. I figured you’d caught on but just weren’t interested and you were trying to let me down gently or something.”

Danton frowns. “Oh. I, uh… that definitely wasn't the case.”

They've drifted a bit closer to each other, though Sean definitely didn't do that on purpose. 

“I didn't want to ruin anything,” Sean admits. “I thought you'd be upset if I… pushed it.”

“But you kissed me,” Danton says. He doesn’t seem upset, but... 

He can be hard to read sometimes, Sean has found out.

“Yeah, uh, sorry,” Sean says. “It was… kind of a weird night. You looked really good. I’d been wanting to kiss you since that day on the Great Wall, honestly.”

The confession hangs in the air, and time seems to stop.

“Oh.” Danton bites his lower lip. “You should have.”

Time starts moving again. It’s Sean’s turn to look dumbfounded. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Danton says, then steps forward and leans in to kiss him.

Sean closes the gap fully before Danton can, pressing their lips together with purpose. Danton has time to kiss him back, this time. He wraps an arm around Sean’s waist to pull them even closer together, his body heat radiating through his shirt. 

It’s intense and hot and a little bit desperate. It makes sense, though, Sean supposes, for a kiss that was about six months in the making. With only the rows of empty stalls and the huge Bruins logo built into the ceiling as their witnesses, they kiss the air out of each other’s lungs until Sean has to break away just to take a breath. 

“Where did _that_ come from?” Sean asks, panting a bit. 

“I don’t know,” Danton says. There’s a smile playing on the corners of his mouth. “Maybe you bring out the hopeless romantic in me.”

Sean presses his hands against his flushed cheeks and laughs. “Oh my god, that’s such a _line_. Did you practice that in the mirror?”

Danton lets out a breathless laugh. They stand like that for a moment, chests rising and falling together, their lips red from overuse. 

“I wanted you to kiss me, you know” Danton says, breaking the silence. “On the Great Wall.”

Sean sighs. “You should have _told me_. That would have been _so_ romantic.”

Danton gives him a lopsided smile. “What, the bathroom at the Westin isn't your ideal first kiss location?”

“Not my number one choice,” Sean says, “but I’m glad I did it.”

Suddenly, Danton’s phone buzzes, and reality dawns upon the two of them. Sean smooths down his hair and wipes his spit-slick lips as Danton fishes his phone out of his pocket.

“You wanna tell me why I just got a text from Torey saying _treat him right_?” Danton says.

Sean can’t help but laugh at that. Danton’s troubled expression only makes him laugh harder.

“Let’s just say not everyone is as oblivious as you,” Sean manages between breaths. 

Danton’s face breaks into a grin, so big his eyes crinkle at the corners, and Sean can’t find it within himself to be worried about anything outside of the two of them, alone in the locker room at Warrior Ice Arena.

**Author's Note:**

> leave me a comment ;)


End file.
